Many people have theories and philosophies about life in general. Countless books have been published by countless people about the ideas of people past and present. Transcendentalism falls into one sector of all these ideas. Transcendentalism has influenced many people since the philosophy was first introduced. Henry Thoreau is a name that is always associated with transcendentalism through one of his famous novels, Walden. John Krakauer is able to explain how transcendentalism influenced Chris McCandless in the novel Into The Wild. McCandless's life is comparable to Thoreau's in many ways such as motivations, however both McCandless and Thoreau's lives are very different in their reasons for traveling and what they did. Both Thoreau and McCandless were against materialism. Thoreau believes that “most of the luxuries and many of the so-called conveniences of life are not only not indispensable, but are positive obstacles to the elevation of humanity” (Thoreau, Walden 28). He thinks that dependence on worldly goods hides the possibility of finding one's true self. McCandless had a similar mindset and acted accordingly. An example of this is when he “…saw the flash flood as an opportunity to shed unnecessary baggage. He hid the car as best he could under a brown tarp, stripped it of its Virginia license plates, and hid them” (Krakauer 29). McCandless wasn't tied to his possessions, he was happy to leave them in the middle of nowhere. Through the reduction of worldly possessions and materials, the message that both McCandless and Thoreau send to readers is to have a simplistic life without the worries that come with worldly possessions. These possessions distract from the true meaning of life. Both Thoreau and McCandless deeply appreciated solitude in nature. In Walden, Thoreau explains how he would like to “…love to see Nature which is so full of life that myriads can afford to be sacrificed and suffer to prey on each other; that tender organizations can be so peacefully erased from existence..” (Thoreau, Walden 238). During his "adventure", Thoreau was able to observe all the little things in nature and appreciate them. While in civilization, you would not be able to notice these things because there are too many people around to notice them. During his journey, McCandless “Not anymore.